The prior art thrust shaft seal arrangement necessitated the shaft having an annular flange which bottomed out in a counterbore of a body for transferring the thrust load of the shaft. In this arrangement the body has an annular groove with an O-ring for sealing the flange of the shaft to the body. The U.S. Navy has had a particular problem with this type of thrust shaft seal where seawater pressure is subjected to the seal on the counterbore side thereof. With wear of the O-ring a slight amount of seawater would enter the groove in the body and corrode the groove so that it would become inoperable to provide the required seal. When this happens a very expensive body portion of an underwater vehicle must be discarded or reworked by an expensive process to bring it back into service.